Matt Lombardi and Zandri Strydom claimed the overall men and women’s Trailworx Enduro titles in Nelspruit on Saturday, 5 June 2021. Lombardi’s victory was a relatively narrow one over a strong men’s field, but Strydom’s win was dominant and saw her finish an impressive seventh overall.
The event, organised by the Trail Awareness Crew, was the second round of the Mpumalanga Enduro Series and the second round of the South African Enduro Cup Series and attracted a strong field. It covered five stages on the outskirts of Nelspruit on trails that offered a blend of manicured hardpack with stable rock features.
Matt Lombardi won all five stages to secure the overall title. | Photo: Phonix Capture
Lombardi, one of South Africa’s leading Enduro racers, won all five stages, but he was put under pressure by fellow Western Cape racer, Jason Boulle, who finished a close second to Lombardi on four of the five stages to secure second place overall. Gauteng’s Sam Bull was super consistent to grab four third places and a second place to round out the overall podium.
Stephan de Haas was the top Mpumalanga finisher in fourth place overall, while Willie van Eck, another local racer, who won the first round of the Mpumalanga Enduro Series at White River in April, finished fifth overall. Van Eck competed on a hardtail…
“I had a clean race. I didn’t try to over-ride the track and pretty much kept it comfortable with a focus on being consistent I used the race as a bit of a warm-up before the Enduro World Series later this year and tested out my equipment. In all, I had a really fun day out in the hills around Nelspruit,” said Lombardi, who races for Specialized.
“Although the stages were pretty short and fast, they were full of exciting features and an interesting mix of terrain. I personally love riding in places that I haven’t ridden before so I was pleasantly surprised at how fun the trails were to ride,” added Lombardi, who also won Round 1 of the 2021 South African Enduro Cup Series at Giba Gorge, KZN in April.
Zandri Strydom dominated the women’s event and finished an impressive seventh overall. | Photo: Phonix Capture
In a relatively small women’s field, Strydom, who races XCO for Team Nanotime, was the comfortable winner of all five stages. Juniors Talia Behr and Anvia Bredenkamp shared the second and third place spots on the stages with Behr eventually claiming second overall, just four seconds ahead of Bredenkamp.
Racing on a Specialized Epic, a bike not exactly designed for Enduro, Strydom secured eighth places on Stages 1 and 4, with her other overall stage results being 15th (Stage 2), 11th (Stage 3) and 19th (Stage 5).
Another standout performance came from thirteen-year-old Gabriel Burnes, who secured top 10 finishes on two of the stages and finished an impressive ninth overall.
Thirteen-year-old Gabriel Burns impressed by finishing ninth overall. | Photo: Phonix Capture
Leading final results:
Overall Men
1 Matthew Lombardi 10:45.1
2 Jason Boulle 11.04.4
3 Sam Bull 11:08.2
4 Stephan de Haas 11:44.4
5 Willie van Eck 11:53.8
Overall Women
1 Zandri Strydom 12:31.6
2 Talia Behr 17:26.2
3 Anvia Bredenkamp 17:30.2
4 Arielle Behr 19:31.1
5 Nande Hattingh 20:18.6
Robert Frost was first Sub-veteran male in sixth place overall. | Photo: Phonix Capture
Category Winners Men
Elite Men: Matthew Lombardi
Junior Men: Ruben le Roux
Youth Men: Alex de Bruin
Sub-Junior Men: Gabriel Burns
Sprog Men: Adriaan Reyneke
Sub-Veteran Men: Robert Frost
Veteran Men: Alwyn Cornforth
Master Men: Charles Kros
eBike: Sean Badenhorst
Category Winners Women
Elite Women: Zandri Strydom
Junior Women: Talia Behr
Sub-Junior Women: Arielle Behr
For full results of each stage and overall, check out this link.
In the Enduro Lite event, designed to introduce new riders to Enduro racing, there were three stages. Craig Weber won the men’s overall and 13-year-old Layla Greyling was the top female. Complete results are here.
